Thursday, July 29, 2010

Just a quick creative space today...I got a request for a soft toy starfish the other day so I used one of the girls stick-on bath toys for the design and made it up last night. I like his cheeky smile :)

Monday, July 26, 2010

I found some great bargains at the second- hand babies and kids shop "Zero to Five" the other day so I thought I'd share them with you. I went in there with my sister in law and just as we were leaving I spotted this adorable Miffy bag. I love Miffy books and toys-just the other day I found some Miffy books in the same shop so I sent one to Angela for the Vintage Baby swap and kept the other one for the girls.

Anyway, back to the bag- can you believe it was only $3.40 and it's so cool- it has opening windows and doors, some rattle and squeaker toys, its own little washing line (cute!!!) and even a little mirror and a fluffy cloud.

Don't you love it when you find something like that for such a great price!

I also found this when I got the books the other day- a pencil case type thing full to the brim with crayons for $4.20 so I had to get that too.

Once they've all worn down a bit I'd like to have a go at making these from Cat Taylor's blog.

If you're a Dick Bruna fan you might like to check out Maika Creation's blog. Caroline is recreating a Dick Bruna alphabet frieze in fabric and every week she posts a new letter- check out her creations here.

I've started a little list of "Cool Kids websites" down the side of my blog-if you've got any sites that your kids love to visit let me know and I'll add them. So far I've just got got the Miffy one, www.haringkids.com and www.bemboszoo.com. I especially like sites linked to authors or illustrators/artists but any links would be great :)

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

I made this satchel bag for a little girl who loves ballet and goes to lots of ballet competitions. Her mum wanted a bag that could fit her ballet shoes and cardi in so I thought the satchel bag tutorial from Heleen at Ruby in the Dust would be perfect. I made a couple of these a while ago (here and here) but finally got around to learning how to put the straps in properly instead of just sewing them on afterwards- looks much more professional!

I made a matching toilet bag too as her mum said she needed a little bag to put all her make-up and hair accessories for the ballet competitions in. Can't wait to make more of the satchel bags now!

I had some of the ballet fabric left over so I made a couple of cushion covers for Amelie's room.

And if you know a little ballet fan I made a ballet girls zip purse for my Felt shop too.

Well, I am thinking about getting a walking foot for my sewing machine-I'm sewing four layers together when I sew these purses so I bet once I use the walking foot I will wonder why I didn't get one earlier??!! Are they easy to use? I'm thinking it will come in handy for little baby quilts, oven gloves and other things that need layers of fabric sewn together as well. Just wondering if it would work all right with the plastic outer? Any advice much appreciated!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

It's been a busy week of sewing, looking after two little ones and dealing with a house full of colds. Some times I find it really hard to get the balance right as when I am on a crafting mission I go a bit crazy staying up really late and trying to finish things to a deadline I make for myself. (Does that sound familiar?!) I still love it though - creating things and thinking about crafty projects is so much fun, even if some weeks it's a bit challenging to get the time!

welcome

Hello and welcome to 'mousehouse'-a place I share crafty projects, home design and organising ideas, fun things for kids to make and do, classroom and teaching ideas and lots more...

Megan

Join Mousehouse on Facebook

mousehouse
On my mousehouse Facebook page I share photo's of my latest projects and ideas. You'll find links to my blog posts as well as links to giveaways, tutorials and other cool things I come across.
www.facebook.com/mousehouseblog

Favourite Quotes

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring- these are some of the rewards of the simple life"